Editing Jon Stewart (section)

=== Criticism of television journalists ===
Stewart is known as an outspoken, humorous critic of personality-driven media shows, in particular, those of the [[Media of the United States|US media]] [[broadcast networks]] such as [[CNN]], [[Fox News]], and [[MSNBC]]. Critics say Stewart benefits from a double standard: he critiques other news shows from the safe, removed position of his "[[news satire]]" desk;<ref name="serious">{{cite magazine |last=Tucker |first=Ken |author-link=Ken Tucker |date=November 1, 2004 |title=You Can't Be Serious! |url=https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/10180/ |magazine=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |access-date=July 26, 2006 |archive-date=March 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070317222016/http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/tv/10180/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CNN041015">{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html |title=CNN Crossfire |access-date=April 23, 2008 |publisher=CNN |archive-date=May 25, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525043846/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Stewart asserts that neither his show nor Comedy Central purport to be anything other than satire and comedy.<ref name="CNN041015" />

==== ''Crossfire''  appearance ====
{{Main |Jon Stewart's 2004 appearance on Crossfire}}
In a televised exchange with then-CNN correspondent [[Tucker Carlson]] on ''[[Crossfire (U.S. TV program)|Crossfire]]'' on October 15, 2004, Stewart criticized the state of television journalism and pleaded with the show's hosts to "stop hurting America", and he referred to both Carlson and co-host [[Paul Begala]] as "[[Partisan (political)|partisan]] hacks".<ref name="CNN041015" /><ref>{{cite video |people=Jon Stewart, Tucker Carlson |title=[[Crossfire (U.S. TV program)|Crossfire]] |medium=Television |publisher=CNN |date=2004}}</ref> When posted on the internet, this exchange became widely viewed and was a topic of much media discussion.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=aFQFB5YpDZE Jon Stewart on ''Crossfire''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208034124/https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=aFQFB5YpDZE |date=December 8, 2021}}, October 15, 2004, Youtube</ref>

Despite being on the program to comment on current events, Stewart immediately shifted the discussion toward the show itself, asserting that ''Crossfire'' had failed in its responsibility to inform and educate viewers about politics as a serious topic. Stewart stated that the show engaged in partisan hackery instead of honest debate, and said that the hosts' assertion that ''Crossfire'' is a debate show is like "saying [[professional wrestling|pro wrestling]] is a show about athletic competition". Carlson responded by accusing Stewart of hypocrisy, stating that Stewart's interview of [[John Kerry]] was primarily "softball" questions, though Stewart criticizes news organizations for not holding public officials accountable (Stewart had stated that he had voted for Kerry in the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 presidential election]]).<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/08/25/ST2008082503384.html |url-access=subscription |title=No Joke: Jon Stewart Takes Aim At 24-Hour Cable News 'Beast' |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 25, 2008 |access-date=September 17, 2010 |first=Howard |last=Kurtz |archive-date=September 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901070725/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/08/25/ST2008082503384.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Stewart responded that he didn't realize "the news organizations look to Comedy Central for their cues on integrity". When Carlson continued to press Stewart on the Kerry issue, Stewart said, "You're on CNN! The show that leads into me is [[Crank Yankers|puppets making crank phone calls]]! What is wrong with you?" In response to prods from Carlson, "Come on. Be funny." Stewart said, "No, I'm not going to be your monkey." Later in the show when Carlson jibed, "I do think you're more fun on your show", Stewart retorted, "You're as big a dick on your show as you are on any show." In response to Stewart's criticisms, Carlson said, "You need to get a job at a journalism school", to which Stewart responded, "You need to go to one!"<ref name="CNN041015" />

Stewart discussed the incident on ''The Daily Show'' the following Monday:

{{blockquote |We decided to go to this place, ''Crossfire'', which is a ''nuanced'' public policy analysis show ... named after [[Crossfire|the stray bullets that hit innocent bystanders in a gang fight]]. So I go to ''Crossfire'' and, let's face it, I was dehydrated, it's the [[Martin Lawrence#Arrests, lawsuits and health problems|Martin Lawrence]] defense ... and I had always in the past mentioned to friends and people that I meet on the street that I think that show ... um ... blows. So I thought it was only the right thing to do to go say it to them personally on their program, but here's the thing about confronting someone with that on their show: They're ''there!'' Un''com''fortable! And they were very mad, because apparently, when you invite someone on a show called ''Crossfire'' and you express an opinion, they don't care for that ... I told them that I felt their show was hurting America and they came back at me pretty good, they said that I wasn't being funny. And I said to them, "I know that, but tomorrow I will go back to being funny, and your show will still blow."<ref name="serious"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Jon |title=Your Show Blows |publisher=[[Comedy Central]] |date=October 18, 2004 |url=https://www.cc.com/video-clips/mr122o |access-date=June 12, 2019 |work=The Daily Show with Jon Stewart }}</ref>}}

In January 2005, CNN announced that it was canceling ''Crossfire''. When asked about the cancellation, CNN's incoming president, [[Jonathan Klein (CNN)|Jonathan Klein]], referred to Stewart's appearance on the show: "I think he made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kurtz |first=Howard |author-link=Howard Kurtz |title=Carlson & 'Crossfire,' Exit Stage Left & Right |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=January 6, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52274-2005Jan6.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 26, 2006 |archive-date=January 11, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070111060200/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52274-2005Jan6.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 18, 2009, Carlson wrote a blog entry for ''[[The Daily Beast]]'' criticizing Stewart for his handling of the CNBC controversy (see below). Carlson discussed the CNN incident and claimed that Stewart remained backstage for at least "an hour" and "continued to lecture our staff", something Carlson described as, "one of the weirdest things I have ever seen".<ref>{{cite web |first=Tucker |last=Carlson |author-link=Tucker Carlson |url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-18/how-jon-stewart-went-bad |title=How Jon Stewart Went Bad |website=[[The Daily Beast]] |date=March 18, 2009 |access-date=March 19, 2009 |archive-date=March 20, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090320222422/http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-03-18/how-jon-stewart-went-bad/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Criticism of CNBC ====
{{Main |Jon Stewart–Jim Cramer conflict}}
Stewart again became a [[Viral phenomenon|viral internet phenomenon]] following a March 4, 2009, ''The Daily Show'' sequence. CNBC canceled [[Rick Santelli]]'s scheduled appearance on ''The Daily Show'' that day, so the show ran a short segment showing CNBC giving poor investment advice.<ref>{{cite news |last=Linkins |first=Jason |title=Jon Stewart Eviscerates CNBC, Santelli On Daily Show |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |date=March 5, 2009 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/05/jon-stewart-eviscerates-c_n_172057.html |access-date=March 5, 2009 |archive-date=March 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305151739/http://www.huffingtonpost.com//2009//03//05//jon-stewart-eviscerates-c_n_172057.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Subsequent media coverage of exchanges between Stewart and [[Jim Cramer]], who had been featured heavily in the original segment, led to a highly anticipated face-to-face confrontation on ''The Daily Show''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gold |first=Matea |title=Exclusive: Jim Cramer set to appear on ''The Daily Show'' Thursday |newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 10, 2009 |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/03/exclusive-jim-c.html |access-date=March 10, 2009 |archive-date=March 12, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312002731/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/03/exclusive-jim-c.html |url-status=live}}</ref> The episode received much media attention and became the second most-viewed episode of ''The Daily Show'', trailing only the 2009 Inauguration Day episode. It had 2.3&nbsp;million total viewers, and the next day, the show's website saw its highest day of traffic in 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last=Lafayette |first=Jon |title=Stewart-Cramer Confrontation Draws 'Daily's' Second-Biggest Audience of '09 |website=TVWeek.com |date=March 13, 2009 |url=http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/stewartcramer_confrontation_dr.php |access-date=March 14, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315003518/http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/stewartcramer_confrontation_dr.php |archive-date=March 15, 2009}}</ref> Although Cramer acknowledged on the show that some of Stewart's criticisms of CNBC were valid and that the network could "do better", he later said on ''[[Today (U.S. TV program)|The Today Show]]'' that Stewart's criticism of the media was "naïve and misleading".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Calderon |first=Michael |title=Cramer slams Stewart: 'naive and misleading' |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0309/Cramer_slams_Stewart_naive_and_misleading.html |website=[[Politico]] |date=March 19, 2009 |access-date=March 20, 2009 |archive-date=March 22, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090322095640/http://www.politico.com/blogs/michaelcalderone/0309/Cramer_slams_Stewart_naive_and_misleading.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Criticism of Fox News ====
Throughout his tenure on ''The Daily Show'', Stewart frequently accused Fox News of distorting the news to fit a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] agenda, at one point ridiculing the network as "the meanest sorority in the world".<ref name="Huffington Post">{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/12/stewart-fox-news-is-the-m_n_496403.html |title=Stewart: Fox News Is The Meanest Sorority In The World |date=March 12, 2010 |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=April 25, 2010 |first=Dan |last=Abramson |archive-date=March 16, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100316051510/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/12/stewart-fox-news-is-the-m_n_496403.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2009, Stewart "called out" Fox News for using some footage from a previous [[Tea Party movement|Tea Party]] rally during a report on a more recent rally, making the latter event appear more highly attended than it was. The show's anchor, [[Sean Hannity]], apologized for the footage use the following night.<ref name="Hong">{{cite news |url=http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/184866.asp |title=Video Fix: Jon Stewart catches Fox News using wrong footage |last=Hong |first=Sharon |date=November 11, 2009 |publisher=Seattle PI |access-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=October 1, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101001232700/http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/archives/184866.asp |url-status=live}}</ref> A month later, Stewart criticized ''[[Fox & Friends]]'' cohost [[Gretchen Carlson]]&nbsp;– a former [[Miss America]] and a [[Stanford]] graduate&nbsp;– for claiming that she [[Google (verb)|googled]] words such as "ignoramus" and "czar". Stewart said that Carlson was dumbing herself down for "an audience who sees intellect as an elitist flaw".<ref name="Carlson episode">{{cite news |url=http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ahba3f/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-gretchen-carlson-dumbs-down |title=Gretchen Carlson Dumbs Down |date=December 8, 2009 |work=The Daily Show |access-date=April 25, 2010 |archive-date=October 9, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009060340/http://www.cc.com/video-clips/ahba3f/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart-gretchen-carlson-dumbs-down |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Stewart stepped up his criticism of Fox News in 2010; within five months, ''The Daily Show'' had 24 segments criticizing the Fox News coverage.<ref name="Stelter"/> [[Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)|Bill O'Reilly]], host of the talk show ''[[The O'Reilly Factor]]'' on Fox News, countered that ''The Daily Show'' was a "key component of left-wing television" and that Stewart loved Fox News because the network was "not boring".<ref name="Stelter"/>

During an interview with [[Chris Wallace]] on June 19, 2011, Stewart called Wallace "insane" for saying that Stewart's earlier comparison of the marketing techniques of a [[Sarah Palin]] campaign video and an anti-[[herpes]] medicine ad was a political comment. Stewart also said Fox viewers are the "most consistently misinformed" viewers of political media.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/19/jon-stewart-fox-news-sunday-video_n_879964.html |title=Jon Stewart LIVE On Fox News, Tells Host 'You're Insane' (VIDEO) [UPDATE&#93; |work=[[The Huffington Post]] |access-date=September 16, 2012 |date=June 19, 2011 |archive-date=August 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120816163029/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/19/jon-stewart-fox-news-sunday-video_n_879964.html |url-status=live}}</ref> This comment was ranked by the fact-checking site, [[PolitiFact]], as false, with conditions. Stewart later accepted his error.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/20/jon-stewart/jon-stewart-says-those-who-watch-fox-news-are-most |title=Jon Stewart says those who watch Fox News are the "most consistently misinformed media viewers" |website=[[PolitiFact]] |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=August 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140828144228/http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2011/jun/20/jon-stewart/jon-stewart-says-those-who-watch-fox-news-are-most/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, Stewart engaged in an extended "call-out" of Fox News, based on their coverage of [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program|food stamps]] and US government assistance, opining that said coverage was biased.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thedailyshow.cc.com/videos/v9wjc4/fox-news-welfare-academy |title=Fox News Welfare Academy – Video Clip |website=[[The Daily Show]] |date=March 13, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=March 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220304101120/https://www.cc.com/shows/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah |url-status=dead}}</ref> This culminated in segments across multiple episodes, specifically singling out Sean Hannity and his show's coverage of the [[Bundy standoff]]. Hannity would "return fire" by calling out Stewart for associating himself with [[Cat Stevens]] during his Rally in 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Wemple |first=Erik |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/04/25/no-sean-hannity-you-cant-distance-yourself-from-cliven-bundy |url-access=subscription |title=No, Sean Hannity, you can't distance yourself from Cliven Bundy |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=August 15, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=July 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140711222714/http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2014/04/25/no-sean-hannity-you-cant-distance-yourself-from-cliven-bundy/ |url-status=live}}</ref> Stewart responded to this by criticizing Hannity for frequently calling [[Ted Nugent]] a "friend and frequent guest" on his program and supporting Nugent's violent rhetoric toward Barack Obama and [[Hillary Clinton]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/2014/04/24/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_calls_sean_hannitys_show_the_arbys_of_news |title=Must-see morning clip: Jon Stewart calls Sean Hannity's show "the Arby's of news" |work=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]] |date=April 24, 2014 |access-date=August 24, 2014 |archive-date=July 5, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140705124417/http://www.salon.com/2014/04/24/must_see_morning_clip_jon_stewart_calls_sean_hannitys_show_the_arbys_of_news/ |url-status=live}}</ref> In late August 2014, Stewart criticized the manner in which Fox News portrayed the events surrounding the shooting of teenager [[Shooting of Michael Brown|Michael Brown]] by police officer Darren Wilson in [[Ferguson, Missouri]], and the subsequent protests from citizens.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/daily-shows-jon-stewart-destroys-fox-news-for-its-ferguson-coverage-9697444.html |title=Daily Show's Jon Stewart destroys Fox News for its Ferguson coverage |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=March 13, 2015 |first=Natasha |last=Culzac |date=August 28, 2014 |archive-date=March 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321091733/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/daily-shows-jon-stewart-destroys-fox-news-for-its-ferguson-coverage-9697444.html |url-status=live}}</ref>